episode 45

At 11 p.m. in S City, an inconspicuous silver minivan screeched to a halt beside Provincial Highway 905.

At this time of day, there are few people on the road, only large trucks carrying goods traveling back and forth in the dark night, the slender and tall poplar branches swaying in the night wind.

The van was parked close to the right side of the road, its bulky body half-hidden by leaves. After a short while, the engine was turned off.

"Alright, let's take a break. We can't follow him any further, or we'll be discovered."

Seeing the unassuming black sedan ahead gradually disappear from sight, Song Liuguang decisively pulled the handbrake, pulled out a bottle of mineral water from somewhere, unscrewed it, and gulped it down.

Su Yaojia, in the passenger seat, didn't even look up. She was busy fiddling with the mini walkie-talkie He Xun had left her, saying, "Do you think this thing will work? What if Xun-ge gets searched as soon as he walks in?... Forget it, I think I'll just follow him. We won't even know if he's in danger, and he can't use his phone directly."

As he spoke, he pushed open the door to get out of the car.

But the next second, Song Liuguang suddenly pulled him back.

Song Liuguang grabbed her arm, almost crying, "Oh, my dear aunt, I know you're amazing, but can you please stop causing trouble now? Xun-ge told us to wait, so we'll wait. He'll signal us if there's any danger. What if you rush in and make things worse?"

"Besides, Xun's walkie-talkie has been disguised as a pen. I don't really think that guy surnamed Huo and that guy surnamed Chen are that smart. Even if they search him, Xun will definitely be able to cover it up himself."

“...Okay.” Su Yaojia reluctantly shrank back.

"Have you forgotten what Brother Xun said yesterday? We can't alert them this time. We need to get the evidence first before contacting the police."

"...I remember, Xun-ge's intelligence is quite reliable."

Su Yaojia closed the car door, idly flipping through the car repair manual in the drawer. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she tossed the manual aside, sat up abruptly, and stared at Song Liuguang with great interest: "By the way, what exactly happened last night? Why were you and Xun-ge carrying a male celebrity when you came out of the club? Did you pick him up while he was unconscious?"

"puff--"

Song Liuguang spat out a mouthful of water. Ignoring the water from his chin, he stared incredulously at his old classmate, his face flushed. "What nonsense are you spouting! What 'picking up a corpse'..."

Su Yaojia wore an innocent expression, as if she wasn't the one who had just uttered such shocking words, only a sly glint flashed in her light-colored eyes.

"What happened?"

The car was stuffy inside, so Song Liuguang couldn't help but open the window a crack before telling the truth.

It turns out that after filming wrapped up last night, he was about to leave the private room when he bumped into an obscure male celebrity who had mistakenly entered the wrong room.

Coincidentally, this male celebrity was the one whose scandalous photos he had secretly taken.

Of course, this connection alone is not enough to make Song Liuguang tremble with fear. Over the years, he has secretly photographed countless celebrities and capitalists. If he were afraid of them all, how could he possibly be afraid of them all?

What's more, this guy is a nobody.

However, the key point this time is that he was caught red-handed by this male celebrity! The male celebrity knew his identity, profession, and real name!!

What's more, the other party had the worst urges on him; the very first thing he saw was the desire to loudly expose his identity. Song Liuguang immediately broke out in a cold sweat, and he almost wanted to smother the other party to death.

As if by divine intervention, perhaps not wanting their performance to go to waste, the club suddenly lost power at this critical moment!

All the private rooms were plunged into darkness in an instant.

The entire club was silent for a moment, then a chorus of complaints from the guests in the private rooms filled the air. Some even pushed open their doors and came out, loudly questioning the waiters in the corridor about what was going on.

The atmosphere in the entire club was like a kettle boiling over, extremely noisy.

Just then, before Song Liuguang could react, a tall, slender figure suddenly flashed past him.

"No sooner said than done! I saw Brother Xun raise his hand and chop at that neck, and with a snap, he knocked the celebrity unconscious!" As he said this, Song Liuguang's eyes were filled with deep admiration. "So clean and efficient! Not a drop of blood was seen, and the male celebrity passed out on the spot."

"And then what?" Su Yaojia listened with great interest and quickly asked, "What were Huo Liang's and that guy surnamed Chen's reactions?"

“To be honest, if I hadn’t been right at the door, I wouldn’t have been able to react! Let alone those two bastards! They didn’t notice anything at all. Xun’s actions were too fast,” Song Liuguang said. “After we were done, Xun made up an excuse to say goodbye to them. We went to another room and stayed there for a while before we dared to go out. That’s why you saw us carrying that male celebrity out.”

"Wow, that's amazing!" Su Yaojia said with some regret after hearing this. "It's just a pity I've never seen Brother Xun fight in person."

"...So you like guys who can fight?"

After a long while, Song Liuguang suddenly scratched the back of his head and said, "Then, then I'll learn it too."

"......"

*

The unassuming black sedan slowly turned onto the winding road, twisting and turning until it disappeared into the depths of the dense forest. The night was dark and the wind was high, with the occasional rustling of birds and insects in the background.

The driver wore a black mask and a baseball cap, completely obscuring his facial features. He remained silent the entire way, focusing solely on driving.

He Xun could only judge the other person's age to be around thirty years old from the shadow and movements behind him.

After observing for a while, He Xun shifted his gaze from the rearview mirror, glanced sideways, and looked out the window through the gray glass. He then rolled down the window slightly, and the whistling sound of the wind rushing past the buildings immediately entered his ears.

"What's wrong? Feeling down?"

Huo Liang sat down next to He Xun with his legs crossed, dressed smartly, and even his hair was carefully styled. When he saw He Xun's little gesture, he asked considerately.

"Yes, this place is a bit too remote." He Xun chuckled, turned around, and joked, "Where are you taking me, Brother Liang? You're not going to sell me off, are you?"

Huo Liang chuckled: "How could I bear to sell you?"

"It's hard to say."

"I told you it's a good place. Just wait a little longer, we'll be there soon."

Before long, the surrounding scenery gradually opened up, and the car squeezed through the weeds onto the narrow road, heading deeper into the night.

While the area has become more open, there are fewer and fewer residential buildings, and the roadside lighthouses are becoming sparse, with only one visible every few meters. On the contrary, there are more and more industrial parks.

Old industrial plants, large warehouses, and warehousing and logistics centers are all located along the road. He Xun even swept up a small substation, which should have been prepared specifically for remote areas with no villages or shops nearby.

He guessed that they should have reached the suburbs by now.

Huo Liang confiscated He Xun's phone as soon as he got in the car, so He Xun couldn't check the time and could only judge by his senses that they were at least 60 kilometers from the city center and that the car had been driving for more than an hour.

Actually, his sense of direction isn't very strong; it's entirely because he's experienced too many situations like this before, which he's developed through sheer hard work.

He Xun silently calculated the distance and time in his mind.

Perhaps because they were getting closer to their destination, Huo Liang's vigilance grew stronger. He stared at He Xun's face for a few seconds, then said with a half-smile, "What are you looking at?"

"It's nothing, I was just figuring out how long we've been walking." He Xun raised an eyebrow at Huo Liang, complaining with a mix of truth and falsehood, "You won't let me look at my phone, and I can't even do a calculation? Since you don't trust me, then Brother Liang, you should just take me back. If you leak any secrets, you'll have to come looking for me, and I'll be so wronged."

After saying that, he turned his head away unhappily.

The young man is so handsome that even his reproachful tone doesn't annoy anyone.

Huo Liang actually bought into this, patted He Xun on the shoulder, and coaxed him with a smile, "I'm just following the rules. I'll make you bear with it this time, but I won't accept it next time."

After driving for about five more minutes, they finally arrived at their destination.

As soon as he got out of the car, a large Western-style manor came into view.

The manor covers a vast area and is built along the water. The gray walls and gray tiles, the Gothic spires reaching straight to the sky, and the indistinct vines that cling to the walls like eerie snakes, swaying quietly in the night breeze.

Looking up, the entire manor looked like a medieval vampire castle plunging into a black lake, making one wonder if red-eyed bats might fly out of the windows at any moment.

"This is the St. Mary's Manor."

He Xun was somewhat surprised.

The Virgin Mary is a central figure in both Christianity and Islam, revered by both religions, and the mother of Jesus.

Christianity recognizes her as a virgin who conceived through the Holy Spirit and gave birth to Jesus. Islam also acknowledges her chastity and status as the mother of the prophets.

How could this manor, with its obviously dark architectural style, dare to have such a sacred name?

It doesn't seem to have anything to do with holiness at all.

Huo Liang seemed to know what he was thinking, and with an ambiguous smile on his handsome face, he said, "You'll know once you go in."

The mysterious driver had already driven off and disappeared.

Before entering the manor, He Xun casually brushed his hand over his waist to make sure the miniature camera was already in operation before following after them.

Before entering, it was pitch black, but once inside, it was brightly lit, with every window emitting a blindingly bright white light.

The window is privacy-protected; you can't see inside from the outside.

Chen Guangling was already waiting for them in front of the hall, where bursts of laughter and cheerful chatter could be heard from time to time.

Strangely, most of the laughter and chatter came from male voices.

"Soren, you're finally here." Chen Guangling walked over and shook hands with He Xun.

He Xun suppressed his doubts, called out "Brother Chen," and pretended to complain, "What kind of place is this? It's all so mysterious."

Chen Guangling and Huo Liang still refused to give a definite answer, only saying that they would know once they went inside.

He Xun simply stopped asking and shrugged, "Then let's go in."

After saying that, he headed straight inside.

Unexpectedly, after taking only two steps, an arm suddenly blocked his way.

"Don't rush, there's a small procedure before you go in, and I need your cooperation," Chen Guangling said, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

He Xun chuckled, his eyes darting back and forth between Huo Liang and Chen Guangling: "What? You want to search them too?"

"Searching him is too much trouble," Chen Guangling said slowly after staring at him for a while. "Take off your clothes."